Sherlock Holmes

Ambiguous Disorder: 21st century incarnations have made this even more obvious, with the suggestion of Asperger's Syndrome. He may also suffer from some form of bipolar disorder.

Beam Me Up, Scotty!: Contrary to popular belief, Holmes never actually says, "Elementary, my dear Watson" in the original books; the line came from Basil Rathbone in the 1939 film, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Berserk Button: Comparing him to a fictional detective, or attempting to harm Watson in front of him.

The Chessmaster: Holmes becomes this sometime in the middle of each story, except in "A Scandal in Bohemia", when he was beaten at his own game by a woman, Irene Adler.

Clothes Make the Legend: Even though neither the deerstalker or cape were actually featured prominently in the stories and only ever appeared once in Sidney Paget's illustrations, it's hard to imagine Holmes without them. Future adaptations have missed the fact that the Deerstalker hat and the Inverness coat were both country wear, something that a respectable gentleman would never wear in the city.

Nice Hat: One of the most iconic: the famous deerstalker cap. Not that he actually wears it that often.

Non-Idle Rich: Holmes says that his ancestors were country squires, and he still managed to pay the bills while trying to establish himself as a detective. It's later said that he could have purchased 221B Baker Street outright from Mrs. Hudson. After The Great Hiatus, he also bought out Watson's old practice as an inducement for his old friend to move back in with him.

Not So Stoic: Has a moment of this in "The Man With the Twisted Lip" that concludes with a Big "WHAT?!". Other moments are sprinkled sparingly throughout the stories. One of the more famous among the fanbase (particularly Holmes/Watson fans) is Holmes's reaction to Watson being shot in "The Three Garridebs".

The Quiet One: Whenever someone relates to him a case, Holmes is reservedly quiet (signifying that his calculating mind is in action) and after the client(s) leave, Watson notes that Holmes will normally sit for a few hours in his armchair and go over the case.

Reckless Gun Usage: During his first meeting with Moriarty in "The Final Problem", he is fingering the trigger of a gun inside his pocket. Moriarty points out the danger of this and remarks that he expected Holmes to be smarter than that. And then there's the fact that he shot a patriotic insignia into the living room wall with bullet-marks.

Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: He's helped the police enough, and done countless services to the Government and the Royal Family (At the end of "The Bruce-Parington Plans he was offered - and declined - a knighthood) that the few times someone does complain about him breaking into their house he doesn't have to worry.

Sherlock Scan: Holmes' trademark. He can tell a lifetime's worth of information about a person by just looking them over for a few moments which, of course, normally leaves everyone else in the room baffled.

The Stoner: Holmes is a regular cocaine user, at least until Watson gets him to drop the habit.

Flanderization: Over time, incarnations of Watson made him obese and rather bumbling, despite the fact that Watson is portrayed in the stories as of around Holmes' build and extremely intellectual (he is a bit slow compared to Holmes, but virtually everyone is as well). 21st century adapations (film and live action TV) have rectified this.

The Gambling Addict: To the point where he has asked Holmes to keep his checkbook safely locked away so that he cannot wager more than he can afford.

The Stoic: Mary seems to have died sometime between Holmes's disappearance and return. Watson doesn't talk about it and Holmes doesn't press the issue, implying that he probably maintained a stiff upper lip despite his loss.

Supporting Protagonist: Sort of; the stories are told from Watson's point of view, but they focus on Holmes' adventures.

Unreliable Narrator: Holmes sometimes accuses Watson of being this; adaptations occasionally toy with this aspect of the Holmes legend.

Inspector Lestrade

Flanderization: Lestrade is quite subdued when placed alongside Holmes' quick wit, but the Universal films in the 1940s turned him into The Ditz. This was ironically inverted as time went on, since in The Hound Of The Baskervilles Holmes declares him to be "the very best of the professionals." In "The Cardboard Box", Holmes also praises Lestrade's tenacity, which is what enabled him to come as far as he has at the Yard.

Fake Ultimate Hero: Takes the credit for many of Holmes's successes and gets glowing reviews in the press.

Tries to be this to Holmes, but is ultimately too slow to pull it off.

Has this with Inspector Gregson as well.

Professor James Moriarty

Affably Evil: He politely waits for Holmes to write a farewell note to Watson before the final showdown.

Always Someone Better: He's almost as good as Holmes, but not quite. For all Moriarty's skill, Holmes remarks that there are limits to his intelligence. At some point, he made a very small, but ultimately fatal, error that allowed Holmes to bring down his entire empire.

Animal Motifs: Holmes describes the "reptilian" way that Moriarity moves his head. He also compares Moriarty to a giant, malevolent spider, sitting at the centre of a web of crime, aware of even the slightest touch on its threads.

Badass Bookworm: According to Holmes, Moriarty's book The Dynamics Of An Asteroid ascends to such high levels of mathematics that it almost boggles the mind.

Breakout Villain: Though only featured in one story and passively in another, Holmes' mention of his ominous reputation in later stories and adaptations of the character have made him a hallmark of the Evil Genius archetype.

Evil Genius: Credited by Holmes himself as "a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker." His scientific literature is peerless, and his genius in crime is what takes Holmes so long to catch him (and hard to escape him).

Generic Doomsday Villain: Moriarty was created to kill off Holmes in "The Final Problem", but became much more popular as time went on.

Villain with Good Publicity: He is a well-respected professor who to, all intents and purposes, seems like a humble, soft-spoken man. Only Holmes knows that Moriarty is a crime lord, but he can't prove it. And when Sherlock Holmes can't prove something, you know the bad guy is very good at what he does.

Mycroft Holmes

Always Someone Better: Zigzagged. Mycroft is indisputably better than Sherlock when it comes to analytical skill. On the other hand, Sherlock outdoes Mycroft when it comes to determining how to tactically approach a case. When the title character of "The Greek Interpreter" asks Mycroft to help him with a case, Mycroft's first act is to put an ad in the newspapers asking for the number of the cab that picked the interpreter up. All this does is make the criminals realize that the Greek interpreter ratted them out.

Brilliant but Lazy: Even Holmes admits that Mycroft is better in observation and reasoning than himself, but says that he would not make a good detective, since he lacks the energy and ambition to apply these skills as anything more than a hobby for his amusement.

Irene Adler

Flanderization: Treated as a Femme Fatale in a Dating Catwoman relationship with Holmes in just about every appearance except her canonical one, where her only "crime" is legally possessing a photograph an ex-boyfriend fears she will use to blackmail him (which she never does).

Warner Bros. Films

Sherlock Holmes

A bohemian scientist and eccentric detective-for-hire. Despite his quirks, he has come to be recognized as one of the foremost authorities in London in the field of criminal deductive reasoning and investigation. Always a man who yearns for a challenge, he takes cases that excite his deductive reasoning ability for the sport, not for personal gain.

Adaptational Wimp: Unexpectedly, despite the film's notorious increase in action scenes over most adaptations. While the movie's version gets into a lot more fights and makes more gratuitous use of martial arts, he lacks the original's prodigious strength and often needs to use his cunning as much as his skill to stay just ahead of his opponents. Conan Doyle's Holmes was a skilled enough boxer and martial artist to never need to stoop to combat pragmatism, preferring Good Old Fisticuffs, and was able to beat an extremely skilled boxer in a fair fight.

Ambiguously Bi: Holmes' vocal disapproval of Watson's engagement and his attempts to sabotage the relationship come across as romantic jealousy as much as a desire to hold on to a valued and long-standing friendship. However, Holmes has some Ship Teasing with Adler and is genuinely sad to hear that Moriarty killed her.

Cursed with Awesome: Sherlock's eponymous Sherlock Scan apparently has no figurative off-switch, as shown in the restaurant scene in the first movie, and is explicitly called a curse by him late into the second.

Dating Catwoman: Played with; Irene's alignment is ambiguous, and while there seems to be mutual attraction it's as though they're too busy one-upping and outwitting each other to act upon it.

Genius Bruiser: He uses his Sherlock Scan to completely and meticulously savage an opponent. Only an opponent capable of doing the same can really counter him.

Genius Slob: Watson bemoans his lack of hygiene during his "Reason You Suck" Speech in the jail from the first film. His room in Baker Street is intimidatingly cluttered with half-completed experiments, paper, models, pictures, and miscellaneous bric-a-brac.

Good Is Not Nice: Despite being solidly heroic in his actions, he comes across as a jerk, often because he notices everything about a person, including their flaws and vices, and has few filters when describing what he observes.

Hyper Awareness: A Holmes staple, required for his iconic Sherlock Scan. He can determine intimate details about a person by instantly observing and analyzing things that most people wouldn't even notice.

I Know Karate: Baritsu, the British offshot of Jujitsu, to be precise.

Lack of Empathy: Toyed with, but ultimately downplayed. Holmes appears to be interested in solving problems and stopping criminals mainly because he enjoys the challenge, and he also admires and respects the cunning and intelligence of the main villains in both movies despite the nature of their crimes. However, he also specifically points out to Blackwood that he wishes he could have caught him sooner in order to save innocent lives, and to Moriarty that he finds his scheme to be both impressive and horrific. Furthermore, while he lacks tact, he's also quite devoted to keeping his friends and companions safe.

Large Ham: Most because his facial expressions and his gravely voice complete with a fake English accent.

Sherlock Scan: As with every adaptation, this is his signature ability. Here it's even applied to combat, as he analyzes his opponent thoroughly enough to predict and counter every move they will make. It's also implied that he's occasionally overwhelmed and resentful that he can't turn it off. Probably goes a long way toward explaining why he has a hard time making friends, as shown when he first meets Mary Morstan.

Spirited Competitor: Needs to have a challenge or problem to work on. Without one, he becomes reclusive and resorts to drugs and bizarre experiments to occupy his mind.

Tranquil Fury: His usual way of getting angry. In the fighting ring, utterly destroys his opponent in retaliation for the latter spitting at him. However, his first thought while playing out the fight in his head is, "This must not register on an emotional level."

Dr John Watson

"I’ve been going over my notes of our exploits over the past seven months. Would you like to hear my conclusions? …I am psychologically disturbed."

Played By: Jude Law

Army wartime veteran and medical doctor, Watson is Holmes's closest confidant and field assistant with a deductive reasoning that has been sharpened with years on the road with the detective. However his impending marriage may see him move away from the crime-solving world.

Berserk Button: Harming women in general tends to piss him off, as he demonstrates in the very first scene with Blackwood. Also, don't harm or threaten his fiancee/wife Mary. Don't harm or threaten Sherlock Holmes either. This is your last warning.

Irene Adler

A cunning and crafty woman with unclear intentions. She and Holmes have acquainted in the past and share a deep relationship. Holmes always has her motives in question when she is involved in his work.

Adaptational Badass: In the books, she was nothing more than an unusually clever opera singer who happened to get her hands on a compromising photograph, and was smart enough to prevent Holmes from stealing it back. Here's, she's a full-on professional thief and a Femme Fatale who's able to best Holmes in a fight and has outsmarted him on two previous occasions.

Mrs Hudson

Played By: Geraldine James

"What will I do when you leave, doctor? He'll bring the whole house down!"

Servile Snarker: Like Watson, Mrs. Hudson is able to combat Sherlock's snark with her own.

Gladstone

Butt Monkey: He's Watson's dog, and as a result he keeps being injected with paralytics and potentially poisoned a lot by Holmes. Lampshaded in A Game Of Shadows when Watson shouts at him to stop killing his dog.

Not Quite Dead: A result of several of the compounds he's injected with.

Sherlock Holmes

Lord Henry Blackwood

"You and I are bound together on a journey that will twist the very fabric of nature."

A disgraced member of England's House of Lords. Suspected in recent times of committing the murders of five young women across London. However after his capture, he seemingly rises from the grave, intent on establishing himself and his order as the sole governing body of England and possibly beyond.

Dark Messiah: Either seriously desires to be one to the people of Britain or simply just use the perception that he is one to establish absolute power. Either way he plays it up convincingly.

The Dreaded: His influence is so strong that he causes rioting outside Parliament in the final scenes.

Evil Brit: Averted. He is evil, but being British has nothing to do with it. Everyone here is British except for Robert Downey Jr.

Evil Plan: Fakes his own death to convince others that he has supernatural dark power and assassinate Parliament.

Evil Sorcerer: Invoked but he can only fake it.. He talks the talk and uses the imagery, but his "powers" are nothing but smoke and mirrors. Though that reoccurring crow and those prophecies coming true are a bit suspect.

Jack the Ripper: It's implied he could be him or at least have something in common.

Karmic Deathhe faked a formal execution by hanging and then inadvertently hanged himself.

Knight of Cerebus: The movie seems to turn into an horror genre everytime he's present.

Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: An odd number of coincidences could be seen as repercussions of his dark magic, and there's this crow that seems to be following him.

My Death Is Only The Beginning: Vows to Holmes that three more will die despite the fact he is meant to be hanged in the coming days. However his death is faked, which allows him to build up the perception he holds otherworldly power.

Obviously Evil: The name alone is a pretty clear sign he is to be feared ("Lord Blackwood" makes for a pretty standard evil mastermind name) but also his standard mode of dress is an ominous leather coat. His hair also has a slicked-back look and a Widow's Peak to complete the sinister imagery.

Red Right Hand: One of his front teeth is badly crooked, mirroring the nature of his character. It's also his first recognisable feature shown to the viewer in a close-up.

Self-Made Orphan: He kills his father, Sir Thomas Rotheram, by forcing him to drown, and his mother died after giving birth.

Take Over the World: Certainly Great Britain, with the British Empire at the height of its power at the time. He also makes reference to extending his reach to the Americas, though he may have only said this in order to incite Standish to ignite himself with his gun.

Villainous Breakdown: When he's about to fall off the bridge, he loses it, shouting for Holmes to cut him loose.

Lord Coward

Played By: Hans Matheson

"How terrible is wisdom, when it brings no profit to the wise."

A British Parliamentary member who reaches out to Holmes in order track down Lord Blackwood. In actuality, though, he is Blackwood's closest advocate and is simply putting the pieces in place in order to bring about Blackwood's new world order.

Ambassador John Standish

Professor James Moriarty

"The laws of celestial mechanics dictate that when two objects collide, there is always damage, of a collateral nature."

Played By: Jared Harris

A mathematics professor at Cambridge University and a man of high regard in the global political community. Despite his accolade, he conceals a more sinister side that even Sherlock Holmes is wary of...

Abstract Apotheosis: He chides Holmes for expending such energy trying to take him down, when there are a hundred other warmongers hiding in the woodwork — so what's the fuss?

"You're not fighting me...so much as you are the human condition."

Adaptational Badass: Unlike Holmes or Watson, Moriarty wasn't noted to be a man of action. The movies gives him an extensive boxing background.

In Doyle's original version, Moriarty was more or less blackballed following a scandal at his university. He was "compelled" to relocate to London, where he held a job as an army coach (a sort of private tutor) despite his obvious mathematical brilliance. In the film, however, not only is Moriarty at the height of his academic prestige, he' s an advisor to nations, as well.

Heck, even his credentials have seen an upgrade. Classic Holmes mentioned Moriarty's former base of operations being one of England's "smaller" schools, possibly Leeds. Now it's Cambridge.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Manages to keep up the facade of a gentlemanly scholar and intellectual, but Holmes knows that he's a deadly criminal mastermind and quickly learns that he's certainly no gentleman.

Combat Pragmatist: In their final confrontation, his strategy is very simple: he brutally and repeatedly attacks Holmes' wounded shoulder.

Cruel Mercy: Having a sort of twisted grudge/respect towards Holmes; instead of simply killing him, he targets his friends and allies most likely with the hope of breaking him.

Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Moriarty is already a rich genius and can invest in the capital which will be used to fuel the next war without killing off the existing management. By his own admission, he doesn't even need to go about having people killed to make the war happen sooner. He's already loaded and has the power to advise the British government itself. He could have legitimately gained everything he covets without committing a single crime.

He Looks Just Like Everyone Else: Part of his redesign from the first movie, where he was an ominous, shadowy figure. When you see him in the sequel, he's obscured by the shadows of some blinds. But he pulls them back to look at Irene face to face, and we are introduced to... an ordinary man. An ordinary Moriarty who manipulates, tortures, and kills untold numbers of people without a second thought.

Hero Killer: After killing Irene. Every time he runs into one of the main cast, he either kills or horribly injures someone.

Lack of Empathy: Holmes quickly writes him off as "morally insane", a neurological term of the day. Basically, his mind is sound, his methods totally insane.

Lightning Bruiser: Seriously, witness his fight against Holmes. The man moves like a bullet.

Loves the Sound of Screaming: He wears a soft, contented smile while dangling Holmes from the ceiling on a meathook, and even sets up a speaker system to broadcast the sounds throughout his factory.

The Man Behind the Man: Moriarty orchestrated the theft of Blackwood's radio wave device, which he likely puts to use with his bombs.

A Nazi by Any Other Name: The German-speaking, Schubert-loving mathematician is plotting to assassinate a foreign diplomat at close-range and blame the Anarchists for it. Things don't go quite according to plan... But Moriarty assures Holmes that there are many more men like him. Although it's a German diplomat he intends to have killed.

Never Found the Body: He goes over the falls with Holmes and is presumed dead, but then again, Holmes survived...

No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: After Holmes reveals that he's utterly ruined his organization, the final battle is waged... in his imagination. Holmes thinks he can just paste this nerd in the jaw and be done with it, but Moriarty instantly recovers and clamps on Holmes' bad arm like a cobra. It's downhill from there.

No Sell: Sherlock's fight analysis/planning is useless against him because Moriarty can think as fast and fight even faster. They both conclude in their Sherlock Scans that Moriarty would tear Holmes a new one (in part due to Holmes' injury).

Oh Crap!: His expression when Holmes tackles him into the waterfall below. He just can't believe this gumshoe has beaten him in a matter of weeks.

Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: War with Germany is inevitable - that's why the British government will always come to Moriarty's aid in the end. They need arms dealers like him.

Tranquil Fury: Sherlock didn't foresee this, and as such had no real advantage over Moriarty in their fight.

Villain with Good Publicity: To everyone except Holmes and his allies, Moriarty is a kindly and respected professor of mathematics at Cambridge University, and a personal friend to the Prime Minister. The British government even invite him to the peace summit, not realising that it's Moriarty's fault France and Germany are at each other's throats in the first place.

Villainous Breakdown: An extremely subtle one, more to do with his actions than any expression or anger. His rage is restrained, but he makes the decision to go all-out on Holmes. And then that goes out the window after Holmes pulls off his Taking You with MeHeroic Sacrifice. His facial expression as he plummets to his death is of impotent rage.

War for Fun and Profit: Utilizing a variety of shell companies, the Professor is arming France and Germany for the war to end all wars. He's also buying bandages to patch everyone up (at considerable cost, no doubt), so Moriarty is going to profit one way or another.

Visionary Villain: Moriarty foresaw the rise of the war economy, and is angling to occupy the ground floor.

Wicked Cultured: Has an appreciation of Opera, particularly the work of Schubert, which he sings during the torture scene. Also, attending Don Giovanni right before the Meinhart shooting.

Worthy Opponent: Holmes admits respect but can barely hide the great hate he feels towards him.

You Cannot Kill An Idea: He barely bats an eyelash when Watson derails his plans, because the framework he put in place still exists. War will come, and it will become a business.

Mycroft Holmes

Sherlock's elder brother. A man of deep importance to British politics, although it is difficult to ascertain his role therein.

Almighty Janitor: Mycroft is indispensable to the British government, even though no one knows what he exactly does.

Ambiguously Gay: Finds nothing wrong with walking around naked with his butler and other men, but is taken aback at the notion that women (i.e. Mary) are creatures to be admired. He even tries to hit on her using this logic, but it fails spectacularly.

Ass in Ambassador: The government must really need him if they invited this streaker to Switzerland.

Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Nudist, unsocial, lazy, brilliant, Mycroft is clearly something a weirdo, much like his brother.

Colonel Sebastian Moran

An ex-military sniper of great renown for his impeccable aim. Veteran of the same war (Afghanistan) that John Watson served in. Following a dishonorable discharge, he became a hired assassin.

Bad Boss: Shoots one of his own men to get a clear shot at Watson whilst sarcastically "warning" the man to back away far out of earshot. Then later, when Sherlock and company attempt to make an escape, he tells the commander of several mooks that if he fails to kill or capture them, he'll be killed for his failure.

Berserk Button: He takes exception to people who try to harm Moriarty.

Cold Sniper: Moran uses both a poison dart gun concealed in a walking cane, and a good sniper's rifle.

Colonel Badass: He's one when shouting orders to the German soldiers in the train yard during the Heilbronn shootout.

Improbable Aiming Skills: He can hit a target at a 650 yards range with a 7-8mph wind, a feat which Watson claims could only have been reliably pulled off by about half a dozen men in Europe. He proves pretty good on the fly, too, taking a crack shot at Watson with a rifle he scooped up while running and missing by only the slightest degree, and later shooting a Gypsy from a fair distance while suffering from a bullet wound himself.

Kick the Dog: He shoots a random German soldier who happened to be standing in front of Watson, sarcastically "warning" him to move while lining up his shot.

Oh Crap!: Has one when he realizes that Watson is pointing a cannon at him.

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